Amtrak Now Offering USA Rail Passes to Americans

[Hostels]

Seen on Frommer's blog:

For reasons they haven't yet explained (and why look a gift horse in the mouth), the officials of Amtrak have just announced that U.S. residents will now be permitted to buy and use the USA Rail Pass. Details for purchase are at tel. 800/872-7245 or at http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/selectpass.

Current prices:

• 15 days - 8 segments: $389
• 12 days - 12 segments: $579
• 45 days - 18 segments: $749

Tickets are available here:
http://tickets.amtrak.com/itd/amtrak/selectpass

Will it be good for hostels? I wonder if Amtrak will do enough promotion to let Americans know about the offer.

[santa klaus]

Interesting.

Question: are there any domestic backpackers, travelling the country for a month or two, Eurail-style, already? If not, a bargain like that could help to make it happen.

Quote from Frommers:

This is significant news, and an example of the kind of transport values that an expanded and improved, high-speed Amtrak could bring to our lives.

Be careful about that. I know how much you Americans like our ICE high-speed trains. They look like space shuttles. There´s this speedometer in every carriage and it´s indeed fascinating when you see it indicating 250km/h, yet you hear no noise at all. French TGVs even travel at 320 km/h (=200 mph).
But! So much money has been invested in high-speed routes that our trains are really expensive now. That is not good news for people who travel on a budget and don´t mind if the trip takes an hour or two longer. If I have two months of time, I´d always prefer cheap, slow Amtrak over expensive, fast ICE.

As for travelelrs from Europe: I doubt many would be excited about trains in the first place. If there´s an authentic way to travel the USA it´s with something like this:





What does it matter if it guzzles gas? It´s soooo cheap there anyway!

[Hostels]

Originally Posted by santa klaus

What does it matter if it guzzles gas? It´s soooo cheap there anyway!

Below $3 per gallon now -- maybe just for the election though...

[santa klaus]

Nah, I don´t think that´s a conspiracy. The crude oil price just skyrocketed this summer because there was a lot of money parked in oil futures.

Anyway, back to topic. I think Amtrak has some great potential even in its current messy state.

I remember when Deutsche Bahn suddently realized their commuter trains were all empty on weekends. They came up with an incredible bargain: a ticket for all non-express-trains in the whole country, valid for 5 persons on Sat and Sun for only 15 Euros. The obvious intention was to attract some families to make weekend trips to granny. They didn´t even promote that ticket very much. Anyway, all of a sudden those trains were packed like trains in India. I have used this ticket several times for trips from Berlin to Bavaria. It took 13 hours (instead of only 6 on an express train), involved changing trains 5 times - but what the hey!
I remember when my sister visited me in Berlin she had to board the train through a window because there was no way to get inside through the doors - and we were at the station half an hour early!

There are some very obvious routes where high-speed trains should run in Amerika: maybe San Diego - Los Angeles - San Francisco or Boston - New York - Philadelphia - Washington. These are routes where high-speed trains can compete with flights and be run profitable. Most of the rest of the network should rather be used for freight trains or the odd passenger trains for people who want to take the scenic route on the cheap.

[gordo]

i drove around the states, in a big whtie van, tinted windows, alloy wheels, side skirts, a roof rack and the words FREE CANDY in big black letters down each side.

got a few strange looks. but i didnt do it alone, i was with a mate for most of it and then there was 3 of us later on - along with a few randoms we picked up along the way. i probably wouldnt have drive around solo - not because id be worried about it, but because... well... it'd be boring.

i think these passes would appeal to the solo traveller... but now that i think of it, most people ive met who travelled around the states did it with at least 1 other friends. cant really explain why taht would be though...

[aboriginalhostel]

Originally Posted by gordo

i probably wouldnt have drive around solo - not because id be worried about it, but because... well... it'd be boring.

Absolutely right for the solos but it is definiely easier, more flexible and much cheaper for a small group to rent/buy a car and drive around the US instead of any passes. Having a car is still a better option IMHO, however I support any budget travel options which improves the hostelling industry.

Otherwise... IMHO it could be an interesting solution implementing the European carpooling models in the US, so it could attract solos to ride for cents!

(investors listen, another business venture!!! $$$! )

[Hostels]

Originally Posted by aboriginalhostel

Otherwise... IMHO it could be an interesting solution implementing the European carpooling models in the US, so it could attract solos to ride for cents!

I have a friend who runs a non-profit organization working on this. It's still in local beta testing, but will be national soon.

[santa klaus]

Originally Posted by Hostels

I have a friend who runs a non-profit organization working on this. It's still in local beta testing, but will be national soon.

What? You don´t have that yet in the USA!? There were already like half a dozen carpooling agencies in Berlin 15 years ago. That was still stone-age, pre-internet, when you still had to actually go to their office to get a ride.

Amazing...

[Hostels]

There are some sites in the USA, but it's still primitive.

[santa klaus]

I can hardly believe that. This is not really stuff for non-profit organizations. There is money made with that in Germany. I wonder why nobody has copied that business model in the USA yet. Unlike hostels, it´s not something you´ll need a lot of investment for. If cou can put together a website and man a hotline desk 24/7 - voila. That´s all you need.